Frequently Asked Questions

Firefighting is an inherently dangerous job but we pride ourselves on having top quality gear and excellent training. Everything we do is done as a team. Our goal is always to accomplish our mission while keeping our firefighters as safe as possible.

Albany firefighters work 24 hour shifts followed by 72 hours off.

Firefighters work 24-hour shifts, because unlike police, firefighters cannot go out and perform training, inspections etc. during the nighttime. It would take more firefighters to cover 8 hour shifts. Firefighters at Albany work a 48 hour work week and the 24 hour shift allows this. This type of schedule is the most cost-effective work schedule to provide fire protection and is the most common.

Your Albany Fire Department is an “All hazard department”. We do much more than fight fires. We respond to calls for medical aid, including illness/accidents at home and work, and injuries resulting from vehicle crashes. Other calls for emergency response involve hazardous materials releases, technical rescues, response to fire alarms and other calls for public assistance as well as maritime emergencies. We also work to educate the general public about fire safety. Firefighters also spend much of their time maintaining equipment, doing routine public safety inspections for businesses and rental housing, training for all types of emergency responses and filling out the reports and paperwork associated with these activities.

The next written exam will take place on Saturday, February 11, 2023. Applications must be submitted through jobs.albanyny.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Friday, January 27, 2023. Exams are held based on the needs of the Albany Fire Department and is set by the Department of Civil Service.

The current starting salary for a firefighter/EMT is $45,500 with annual “step increases” until reaching “top grade”. Top grade firefighter EMT salary is $69,999. There is also opportunity to advance to a higher rank or become a paramedic.

Please visit joinafd.org to see a list of EMT training providers. Do not wait until you get your civil service exam test results before signing up.

Candidates must have been legal residents of Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schoharie or Schenectady County for at least thirty (30) days immediately preceding the date of the written examination. ***RESIDENCY PREFERENCE FOR APPOINTMENT*** (ALLOWED FOR UNDER SECTION 23.4-a OF NEW YORK STATE CIVIL SERVICE LAW & CITY OF ALBANY LOCAL CIVIL SERVICE RULE VII) 1. Preference in appointment may be given to successful candidates who have been legal residents of the City of Albany for at least thirty (30) days immediately preceding the date of the written exam. 2. When preference in certification is given to residents of the City of Albany, in order to be included in certification as a resident of such municipality, an eligible candidate must be a legal resident on the date of the examination and must be a legal resident of the City of Albany at the time of certification and at the time of appointment.